Debbie Houschild, of Oceanport, can still recall the excitement she felt in 1974, when she received her first letter from a pen pal in England.
At the time, Houschild was an avid viewer of Big Blue Marble, a ‘70s children’s television series that encouraged cultural exchange and offered the chance to request a pen pal from another country at the end of every episode.
Houschild jumped on the opportunity and was paired with Jane Bean of Sittingbourne, England. The 11-year-olds quickly bonded over discussions about school and sports.
“It was really like having a friend my age, only we never saw each other in person,” Houschild said.
As the pair grew up, their friendship became stronger as they continued exchanging letters, cards and photos.
While they corresponded less frequently when they entered adulthood, and eventually switched to digital communication in the early 2000s, they remained in contact through all stages of their lives.
“I had two girls; she had two boys. We were both divorced at some point. So, we’ve had, in some ways, similar lives,” Houschild said.
Though they had always hoped to one day meet in person, Houschild said it wasn’t until Bean acknowledged their 50-year anniversary as pen pals earlier this year that she finally decided to plan a visit.
“I said to Debbie in one of our exchanges that it was our golden anniversary because obviously we’ve known each other for 50 years,” Bean said. “And Debbie replied, ‘We need to meet, I need to come to England’… And with that, she got together with her daughters and planned the trip to come over.”
A few months later, Houschild ventured to London with her daughters to meet Bean face to face on Aug. 26.
“We both immediately just stuck our arms out, like, finally,” Houschild said. “It was very exciting.”
“It felt like the most natural meet up and chat with an old friend you could possibly imagine,” Bean said. “I’ve got friends that I live near that I’ve known for more than 50 years, like from school, and going up and meeting Deb was just like meeting up with one of those.”
The two spent the day reminiscing and sight-seeing, with Bean taking Houschild and her daughters on a tour of the city.
At a local pub, Houschild surprised Bean with a stack of old letters and photos she had saved over the years. She also gifted Bean a t-shirt featuring a photo of the Bay City Rollers, a Scottish pop rock band she was “absolutely nutty” about when they first began writing.
“That was really sweet,” Bean said.
Houschild’s daughter, Kimberly Johnson, of Red Bank, chronicled the visit on social media, with her TikTok post garnering over 100,000 views.
Since the meetup, the pair has remained in touch, and Houschild says she hopes to return to England in the future — this time to explore Bean’s hometown.
“We just always seem to come back to each other again, which I’m eternally grateful for,” Bean said.